for May of 2013

By: Katerina Sharp, Reporter

Next FFA Meeting

The next FFA Meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 21^st at 7:00 P.M. in the Ag. Center. This will be our last meeting of this school year. The assistant officers, not the regular officers, will be running the meeting. After the meeting we will be having a cookout, which is a great opportunity for members to eat good food and socialize!

Upcoming Events

A-C FFA Awards Banquet: The annual chapter’s award banquet will take place on Saturday, May 11^th at 4:00 P.M. This years banquet is very special because this is our chapter’s 75^th year anniversary. Members are reminded that this is a required event and that all members must attend. Official dress is also required if you own a jacket. Mr. Sharp and Mr. Tilley will give out more information on the banquet as we approach it. The banquet is a great opportunity for members to eat good food and reflect on the achievements that the chapter has had over the past year, as awards will be announced and given out. Parents, family members, FFA Alumni, and community members are all invited to come and share this special night with the chapter and its members! The chapter would like to remind those attending that the banquet is a potluck dinner, so everyone is asked to bring a covered dish with them. Mr. Sharp and Mr. Tilley will give out more information about food items to members as we approach the banquet.

State FFA Convention: The State FFA Convention will be taking place at the Ohio Expo Center on May 2^nd and 3^rd. Members who are attending have the option of going one day, both days, or evenings only. We have several people that will be getting recognized at the convention, or getting awards. One of our chapter’s senior members is running for a state FFA office and will find out whether they got it or not at the convention. Last years secretary, treasurer, and reporter will be recognized for their gold rated officer books. Three of our members will be awarded their State FFA Degrees. We also have 4 members who placed in the top 4 in the state in their proficiency area, and will be completing a rigorous interview. There are also other members who will be awarded for various other activities. As you can see, our chapter’s members are very active!

Top Spring Fundraiser’s Trip: The Top Spring Fundraisers Trip is geared as an educational reward trip for our chapter’s top sellers of mulch and flower bulbs. The top 2 flower bulb sellers and the top 15 mulch sellers are the members who get to go on this trip, along with Mr. Tilley and Mr. Sharp. If selling mulch, members have to have sold a minimum of 150 bags to qualify for the trip. As the chapter only does a few fundraisers each year, it is extremely important that all of its members participate in them. These fundraisers help to lower the costs of and sometimes pay for all of the trips, activities, contests, and events that our chapter participates in each year. All members are encouraged to sell!!! This year, attending members will be going camping, backpacking, and completing the Via Ferrata (modified rock climbing course) in Kentucky from May 16^th to the 19^th.These are all educational and very challenging activities!

Ag. Breakfast: The May Ag. Breakfast will take place on Wednesday, May 1^st at 6:15 A.M. at Tee Jaye’s. Although an optional event, all members are encouraged to go, as it is a great opportunity to eat good food and socialize with your fellow members.

Past Happenings

April FFA Meeting: The April meeting took place on April 15^th at 7:00 P.M. in the cafeteria. There were 78 members present at the meeting. Members who were unable to attend are reminded to bring in a note, signed by a parent or guardian, as to why. The Ag. Challenge following the meeting was the tug-of-war contest. Each class had a boy team and girl team of 5 individuals. The junior boys dominated the freshman boys and the sophomore boy team beat the senior boy team. The junior boys then beat the sophomore boys and the seniors beat the freshman. The placings for the boys teams was juniors 1^st place, sophomores 2^nd, seniors 3^rd, and freshman 4^th. The first line up for the girls was the same as the boys with the junior girl team beating the freshman and the sophomore girl team beating the senior, though they put up a very good fight. The junior girl team then went on the beat the sophomore team and the freshman team went on to beat the senior team. The final placings for the girl teams were juniors in 1^st place, sophomores in 2^nd, freshman in 3^rd, and seniors in 4^th. The combined over all placings stand with the juniors in 1^st place, sophomores in 2^nd place, and seniors and freshman tied for 3^rd place.

April Ag. Breakfast: The April Ag. Breakfast took place at Tee Jaye’s on April 5^th. As always, this is a great opportunity for members to eat good food and socialize. All members are encouraged to attend this monthly event!

Mulch & Flower Bulb Sale: Members sold mulch and flower bulbs throughout the month of April as a fundraiser for the chapter. The mulch sale is our second biggest source of income in the chapter. Not only do the funds from the sale help to cover costs for the chapter, but members who sell are able to use some of the money that they helped earn for their own personal expenses in the chapter, such as buying their FFA Jacket. It is extremely important for all members to participate in these fundraisers, as the chapter operates off of these funds. If you did not get asked to buy mulch and still need some, please call (740)-969-7381. We may still be able to fulfill your order.

Contests: The following contests teams competed in the state contest in their respective CDE areas and earned the following placings:

Spring Skills: Nature Interpretation – 3^rd in state (Allyson Davis 2^nd Individual)

Agronomy – highest ever; 4^th in state (Dylan Mullen 7^th Individual)

Wildlife Management – 5^th in state

Poultry – 12^th in state out of 37 teams. Highest since 2002-2003

Equine – 20^th in state out of 78 teams. Highest since 2002-2003

General Livestock – 31^st in state of 115 teams. Highest since 2006-2007

There is a lot of hard work and practice that must go into these CDE’s. Teams that place in the top 5 in the state are awarded a banner, and it is a huge accomplishment that we had 3 teams win banners! We would like to thank numerous community members for their help coaching some of our CDE teams; A-C FFA Alumni member Christian Hoffman coached the General Livestock team, Gail Ellinger coached the Equine team, Bob McClure helped with the Agronomy team, and Andy Montoney helped with the Wildlife Management team. Congratulations to all of the CDE teams!!!

Environmental and Natural Resources – The team for ENR was made up of Kayla Luft, Adrian Wymer, Josh Metzon, and Devan Boyer. To qualify for this contest, the chapter had to place in the top 5 in any of the following CDE’s: Wildlife Management, Nature Interpretation, Forestry, Urban Soils, or Rural Soils. This contest is the only invitation only CDE in the FFA. Members competing in this contest are tested in their knowledge of environmental factors and identification, water quality testing, soil analysis, and GPS functions. They also have to make and present a presentation over an environmental issue. Our ENR team this year placed 3^rd in the state contest. Congratulations to the ENR team!

Aquarium Management - This contest tests the student’s knowledge on the home aquaculture industry. Students are asked to identify various species of freshwater and saltwater fish and other invertebrates along with equipment used with fish tanks. Students are also asked to demonstrate knowledge with the set-up and management of fish tanks. The members of our team are: Austin Stai, Josh Watkins, Madison Darnell, Matt Notestone, Mikaila Drake, Devan Boyer, and Johnny Lemaster. The team competed at the State Contest on April 16^that the Ohio Expo Center and placed 12th.

Animal Management - This contest test the student’s knowledge of the animal species and equipment used in the pet care industry. Students may be asked to identify different breeds of dogs, cats, cavy, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Students must also complete various tasks related to the care of such animals. The members of our team are: Dylan Mullen, Carrie Stoneburner, Rachel Stoneburner, Autumn Spencer, Kaylee Reed, Amber McCreary, and Matt Marshall. The team competed at the State Contest on April 16^th at the Ohio Expo Center and placed 16th. We would like to thank A-C FFA Alumni member Laurie Travis for coaching this team.

Animal Health - The Animal Health Career Development Event (CDE) tests the student’s knowledge of the animal health care industry. Students must identify tools used in the veterinary field, small animal parasites, and demonstrate various skills needed in the area of small animal care. The members of our team are: Susan Householder, Devon Mullen, Ashley Pritchard, and Katie Krile. The team competed at the State Contest on April 16^th at the Ohio Expo Center and placed 17th.

Outdoor Power Equipment – Rachel Stoneburner, Carrie Stoneburner, and AJ Wymer made up our Outdoor Power Equipment team this year. They placed 5^th in the District contest. This contest tests the student’s knowledge and understanding of small gasoline engines. The contest consists of a multiple choice test and various stations ranging from installing valves to parts ID to questions dealing with lubricants.

Smile!!!

Aquarium Management Animal Health

Animal Management